Sine, Cosine and Tangent

Opposite & adjacent sides and SOHCAHTOA of angles

The sine of an angle is always the ratio of the (opposite side)/(hypotenuse).

Sine of ABC=AC /AB   (opposite side)/(hypotenuse)

The cosine of an angle is always the ratio of the (adjacent side/ hypotenuse)

The cosine of ABC =CB/AB (adjacent side)/(hypotenuse)

The tangent of an angle is always the ratio of the (opposite side)/(adjacent side)

The tangent of ABC =AC/ CB

Practice Identifying Adjacent and Opposite Sides

Identify the opposite and adjacent sides of YZX. Answer The key to solving this kind of problem is to remember that 'opposite' and 'adjacent' are relative to an angle of the triangle--which in this case is the shaded angle in the picture.

Identify the side that is opposite of IHU and the side that is adjacent to IHU. Answer